This morning, at Sony Computer Entertainment's pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference, SEGA announced its latest installment in the Phantasy Star franchise, Phantasy Star Nova. The game, set in the same universe as Phantasy Star Online 2, will be an exclusive to the Playstation Vita and will feature an offline, single-player story, as well as online co-op for up to four players.

The title is being developed by tri-Ace, also known for games in the Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile franchises. There was no indication if Phantasy Star Nova might make it to the West, but it is slated for a 2014 release in Japan. More details are to be revealed next week, during the 2013 Tokyo Game Show.

A big thanks to everyone who posted about this news in our forums! We'll be sure to post more updates as they become available. In the meantime, feel free to check out the ongoing discussion here!

Update: More details have emerged, courtesy of Shogai PSO and Mike in our forums, be sure to check them out in the forum tags above!

I have no hope of seeing this title in the west. BUT, I kinda want to see it localized and not selling well assuming it wont be free (but to be honest I would still buy it, I can't lie).

As far as I know, hacking a PS Vita is impossible at the current time, so lets assume that piracy wont be a big issue by the time they release it (again, assuming it will be localized), so I wonder who or what SEGA will blame for PSNova not selling well in the west if they decide to release it outside Asia. I kinda want to see it happen because I want to think that it will be a wake up call for SEGA to actually start advertising this if they really want to sell it, if they want me to buy their stuff, at least they should try to sell it to me.

I bought PSU, AotI, PSP:1 and PSP:2 because I played PSO ep I, II & III, but I didn't know PSO thanks to an advertising campaign, I NEVER saw PSO being advertised here (Mexico) and if I did, it wasn't remarkable and didn't made me pay attention to it, I knew PSO thanks to a friend, if my friend had never recomended me to give PSO a try, I can say I would never have bought PSU and the PS games that followed after.

PS Zero, while a fun title (what?! It was!), could've been WAY better and bigger if they didn't burn all the available cartridge space with useless videos (even if Ogi's gattai WAS epic as all frozen hell). Imagine the extra equipment, character creation options... hell, even a new area or two, or a bigger main city... or even a SECOND city with new sidequests once you finished the main story! As for cutscenes, the game made great use of the DS' hardware, so real-time cutscenes would've looked nice. But no... Fill it up with video files, that's the way to go!

With the 3DS having at least 2GB of cartridge space (PSZ has 128MB) and up to 8GB, and not HD (meaning no need for heavy texture files), a PS title on the 3DS would be pretty darn sweet. Hell, just look at Monster Hunter 3! Beautiful-looking, packed-full with content, and... 1.7GB. And for all that is sacred, if a 3DS PS ever comes out... bring back the visual chat! That thing was pure genius! Also, you could bet your asses Nintendo themselves would try to bring it to the west if Sega doesn't. Project X Zone. Need I say more?

But please... DO keep releasing titles for the portable that has the smaller user base and higher production costs (I'm not trying to start a flame war, these are facts), while your financial situation is always jumping down and rock-bottom ("up and down" doesn't apply to Sega)... that'll work WONDERS!

I have the Vita JP version of PSO2, as we are clearly not getting it in the west.
Although PSNova uses the same areas as PSO2, I doubt we will be seeing it here in the west, so if anything, I'll import again. If, IF we get it, I want to see game play before I consider it.
Otherwise, it's just another JP game that we wont have.
I sometimes wonder why I'm a JRPG gamer, when all we do is get **** on from a great height!

This title is strange knowing how we can play PSO2 on the Playstation Vita.
It's perhaps a way just to enjoy PSO2 fix on the go without the internet connection needed
for PSO2, but still I will be playing PSO2 on my Vita.I might get this game just need more info.

One hand it's good to see Tri-ace up and about again, maybe they can redeem themselves after the fiasco that was last hope. But on the other I see no point in personally getting excited. Phantasy star here in the west is pretty much a faded memory now. What little faith I had in sega is gone. If by the slightest chance in Helheim we get another PS game then cool, but as of right now I've gone elsewhere to get my action rpg/ loot hunting fix. Thank you Ragnarok Odyssey ace.

I have to admit. I do share some sentiment with some of the other posters. Not that I want to sound angry, as I generally don't do such a thing.
These days, it really gets hard to actually get excited about a Phantasy Star release unless you are Japanese or fluent enough for which a localized release doesn't make playing the game any easier or comfortable.
Thing is. Until Sega gives any word that they are supporting any kind of Western releases on Phantasy Star games, at all; people are going to assume that any announcement comes with a "Japan only" stamp on it.
Considering Western support completely dropped after the release of Phantasy Star Portable 2, and there have been a number of Phantasy Star releases since then (on different platforms); most announcements here are basically just like a Japan fan-group posting about some Japan-specific toy or food brand for which the only way to obtain it is via import.
I'm hoping that's not what is going to become of this site. I guess talking about earlier, already localized, games that can be played offline is what people can talk about; but I hope Sega decides to make Phantasy Star-related western releases a reality again.

LOL, what. They totally went Ninja on us about PSO2 and showed up with another title. That's a great way to give us the finger. As for Vita, that's great. The handheld can use more games coming around. Just that, I wouldn't buy one right now. Not many games worth playing IMO other than Persona 3, Soul Sacrifice, Ragnarok Odyssey & BlazBlue if you're into that. Maaaaaabye we'll get God Eater 2 and a Monster Hunter title (although I don't recall MH3rd HD ever being released outside JP so eh..).
Going to start learning JP now, kbai >.>

Honestly I'm not too surprised. After about a year of no word on a US release of PSO2 and then the announcement of this makes me believe that (as much as I hate to admit it) Phantasy Star is currently dead in the West. Things were looking up when we got the release of PSP2 stateside however without any advertising (as usual)...well we all know how that turned out.
All I can hope is that Sega just decided not to release Nova for the US because of how much more the Nintendo 3DS is dominating the Vita (At least in my area, seriously I have never seen or heard of anyone with a Vita). Not to mention with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (and soon 4) for the 3DS most people, myself included, have just switched to that for our grinding fix.
Sega 'could' bring Phantasy Star back stateside but I honestly believe that the only platform it'll succeed on here is the 3DS. With the recent surges in highly anticipated MMO's coming out it would just fall under the radar in terms of PC gaming. (Which is another reason I feel they've just ignored us on PSO2) As far as console gaming goes I just feel that non-Phantasy Star/grinding/dungeoning fan westerners would bash it for it's simplistic/grindy feel since many people are going to compare them to the current trend of stylish over the top games (The western console stereotype is FPS and God of War pretty much). However as far as portable gaming fares, Sega might have a chance with a Phantasy Star game for the 3DS once the hype from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and 4 dies down.

Exclusive to Vita; feature an offline, single-player story; ... as well as online co-op for up to four players. See, SEGA, it's all nice and all, but that's KINDA what we EXPECTED something like, say, PSO2 to be. And on PC (or at least, anything BUT Vita). At least we MIGHT still get PSO2 in the West (though I'm starting to wonder if THAT will ever happen). But hey it's cool, I guess I could just get a Vita and import this. Might get that before Western release of PSO2 anyway, and have a PSO experience closer to what was expected of PSO2 in the end! All is good, all is good. Or I could ditch the series altogether and support devs who make progress on a broken franchise in a manner that shows they have the ability to improve (and deliver) a product in timely manner as well as succeed at what could be called a ''complete overhaul from previous status of utter failure''. I think I'll give FFXIV: A Realm Reborn a shot. Yeah, I think I'll do just that.